Schaumburg-Lippe

A German principality, surrounded by
the Prussian province of Westphalia Hanover, and an exclave of the
Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau (the Prussian County of
Schaumburg). Schaumburg-Lippe has an area of about 131 square
miles and (1910) 46,650 inhabitants. As regards population it is
the smallest state of the German Confederation; in area it is
larger than Reuss-Greitz, Lübeck, and Bremen. In 1905, of
44,992 inhabitants 43,888 were Lutherans, 653 Catholics, and 246
Jews. Thus the Catholics are 1 5 per cent of the population. The
principality of Schaumburg-Lippe has sprung from the old County of
Schaumburg, in early days also called Schauenburg, which was
situated on the middle course of the River Weser, and was given as
a fief by the German Emperor Conrad (1024-39) to Adolph of
Santersleben. Adolph built the castle of Schaumburg on the
Nettelberg, which is on the southern slope of the Weser Mountains,
east of Rinteln. The descendants of Adolph of Schaumburg, among
other possessions, acquired the County of Holstein and the Duchy
of Schleswig also.

In the year 1619 the Schaumburg
family were made counts of the empire; however, soon after this,
in 1640, the male line became extinct by the death of Count Otto
V. At the division of the inheritance the County of Schaumburg
went to the mother of Otto V, Elizabeth, Countess of Lippe.
Elizabeth gave it to her brother Count Philip of Lippe, the
younger brother of Count Simon VII, ruler of the County of Lippe.
The Margrave of Hesse-Cassel and the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
also laid claim to parts of the old County of Schaumburg, and an
adjustment was made which was confirmed in the Treaty of
Westphalia. On account of this agreement the county was divided,
one part going to Hesse-Cassel, another to Brunswick, while what
was left, including the Barony of Buckeburg, came to Count Philip
who now called himself Count of Lippe-Buckeburg. The first one of
his descendants to call himself Count of Schaumburg-Lippe was
Count Philip Ernest (d. 1787). Thus the territory of the present
principality of Schaumburg-Lippe has never had any constitutional
connection with the present principality of Lippe. The two
countries have not arisen by partition of another principality.

The districts of the old County of
Schaumburg that fell to Hesse-Cassel, among which were the castle
and the district of Schaumburg, became Prussian territory when the
Electorate of Hesse-Cassel was suppressed (1866), and since then
these districts, under the name of the government district of
Rinteln, have formed an exclave of the Prussian province of
Hesse-Nassau. Since 1905 Rinteln has been called the Prussian
County of Schaumburg. George William of Schaumburg-Lippe (d. 1860)
joined the Confederation of the Rhine in 1806, and received the
hereditary title of prince. After the dissolution of the
Confederation of the Rhine he joined the German Confederation
(1815). At the outbreak of the Prusso-Austrian War (1866) Prince
Adolph George (d 1893) at first agreed to the demand of Austria
for the mobilizing of the forces of the Confederation against
Prussia, but after the Prussian victories he withdrew from the
German Confederation and joined Prussia and the North German
Confederation. In 1871 the little country became a state of the
German Empire, Prince Adolph (b. 1883) succeeded as ruler in 1911,
in which year he was still unmarried. At the time of the great
religious revolt of the sixteenth century the territory of the old
County of Schaumburg belonged, in ecclesiastical matters, to the
Diocese of Minden (founded by Charlemagne about 800). The
Reformation was introduced into the country between 1560 and 1570,
after the death of Adolph III, Archbishop of Cologne (d. 1556) and
of his brother Anthony (d. 1558), both of whom belonged to the
Schaumburg dynasty. The reigning Count Otto IV, brother of these
two, was won over to the new doctrine after his marriage with
Elizabeth Ursula, daughter of Duke Ernst of Brunswick-Lüneburg
(called the "Confessor" on account of his zealous
adherence to and championship of Protestantism).

The childless Count Ernst (d. 1622)
was succeeded by a Catholic Count, Jobst Hermann, who also died
without children (1636). Jobst, indeed, attempted to bring up his
probable successor, the later Count Otto V, in the Catholic Faith,
but Otto's mother, Elizabeth, had him educated in the Reformed
doctrines. Upon the death of Otto V the male heirs of the
Schaumburg line were extinct. What remained of the country after
the partition, the present principality of Schaumburg-Lippe, came
under the House of Lippe, which had also adopted the Reformed
teachings, so that since this era the ruler of the country and his
family have been Protestants, and the national Church is the
Lutheran. However, the ruler of the country has by law supreme
ecclesiastical power over the State Church. Parishes of the
Reformed Church were formed only in the capital, Buckeburg, and
Stadthagen. Catholic services were re-established at Buckeburg
about 1720 for a Catholic countess and her servants. Originally
the Catholic pastoral care was exercised from Minden by
Franciscans of Bielefeld; between 1840 and 1850 the mission parish
of Buckeburg was created, to which was added in 1883 the mission
parish of Stadthagen. In consequence of the country's entrance
into the Confederation of the Rhine the few Catholics received
equal civil rights with the Protestants. By a rescript of 3 July,
1809, the Sovereign settled the relations of the principality to
the Catholics, and granted Catholics permission to hold public
church services. Since 1846 episcopal jurisdiction has been
exercised by the Bishop of Osnabrück in his capacity as
Pro-vicar of the Northern Mission.

The political status of the Catholic
Church was revised by the State law of 18 March, 1911. The
Catholic parishes are corporations established by law and are
composed of the aggregate of all the Catholics residing in the
district. Their boundaries are fixed by the bishop with the
approval of the ministry after the opinions of the interested
parties have been consulted. The ministry exercises the State's
right of supreme supervision. The pastor is named by the bishop
who must, however, before making the appointment, ascertain that
the ministry has no objection to this cleric. If within thirty
days no objection be raised against the candidate the acquiescence
of the ministry is assumed. Every parish is bound to establish and
maintain properly the buildings necessary for worship, etc. To
meet these obligations every self-supporting member of the parish
who has resided there at least three months is bound to pay the
church tax. The State gives nothing for Catholic Church purposes.
The necessary expenses are met by the bishop. Orders and
congregations are not allowed in the country. The primary schools
are all Lutheran. Religious instruction is not given to the
Catholic minority in the public primary schools, although this is
legally permissible. There are private Catholic primary schools at
Buckeburg and Stadthagen; these do not, however, receive any aid
from the State or commune. The Catholic school at Buckeburg,
founded 1848, numbers (1911) 20 pupils; the one in Stadthagen,
founded 1877, numbers (1911) 27 pupils.